DID YOU READ

“It’s not like I’m hanging out in a cave”: Binoche, Burton and other interviews.

She has just finished a film called Orsay, with the Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien, which was fully improvised. "Before a shot you don’t know where the camera is going to shoot and you don’t know where you are supposed to be in the room. There’s no mark, and you don’t have the dialogue written." That kind of challenge is "now such a need for me as an actress. It becomes so much more [about] making movies out of trust and not out of fear. Because you have to trust that it’s going to happen, the impossible is going to happen." She leans out of her chair and reaches for a terribly French, skinny white cigarette. "Is it OK if I …"

â€œThere are a lot of projects that explore the dark side of suburbia and there is a reason for it because there is a dark side,â€ Burton continues. â€œItâ€™s got that mask of normalcy which is truly disturbing.â€ Not something of which Burton himself could be accused. If anything, it is his mask that is abnormal, the side he likes to project, with his black outfits and his wild mop of black hair. That, and the gothic preoccupations of his films, the skeleton imagery and obsessions with Frankenstein myths and the afterlife, have all conspired to give him the reputation of being â€œdarkâ€. Has he grown tired of that oft-repeated epithet? â€œYeah, because itâ€™s obviously not true,â€ he sighs. â€œReally. I could come out in a light-blue leisure suit and it still wouldnâ€™t change peopleâ€™s take on you. We all have our moments of depression or darkness but itâ€™s not like Iâ€™m hanging out in a cave.â€

"I’m really glad that people prefer it when I do characters like Raimunda," she says. "I just love that woman. I have seen those women, who could easily become victims but refuse to do that. She goes through things that could have destroyed anyone but she keeps fighting because her daughter needs her to survive. I know women like that. So you forget about yourself because you are playing a woman who is actually an hommage to all those women who have survived. They are very special people, and I wanted to give her that dignity."

In our last interview, you said you hoped the books would be made
into a "live action, mock Gothic, dismal musical." That doesn’t seem to
describe the Jim Carrey version.

One of my least favorite
moments in making that movie, actually, was toward the end. It was all
done. But there was an opportunity to put Stephin Merritt‘s songs in
the closing credits. I thought that would be cool. I sent the producers
these new copies of these songs. They would say, "Oh that’s a great
idea!" Then I would never hear back. The next time they would not
remember any of the conversation they’d had previously. But then they
were in the room with me; I had my iPod and I set it up to play the
songs. They were so impressed by my speakers — it was the dawn of iPod
speakers — that the conversation ended up being about them. It was at
that moment that I realized the songs would not be used.

The film, now acknowledged by many as a masterpiece, was panned, and Huppert’s chances of international stardom were nipped in the bud. "The rejection of the film was in a way political," she says. "It was a rejection of the film’s themes. It was too harsh a criticism of the States. It was an anti-Western."

She attended a school for the hearing-impaired to bone up on sign language until her command became strong enough to allow for a natural rapport with her non-professional, deaf-mute costars â€” especially Yuko Murata, who plays her best friend in the film. "It’s very strange, but when I’m around deaf people, [signing] now comes naturally," Kikuchi said. Eventually, her determination and insistence on inhabiting the part completely won IÃ±Ã¡rritu over. "I was always Chieko, even off the set," she said. "I dressed like a teenager and I tried to use sign language all the time. It was hard in a way â€” but I always found some pleasure in it."

"To me, they’re all yakuza. All the people in the film, all the people in that government. Pure yakuza." The director, however, points out that he doesn’t like gangster movies and, in fact, insists he’s never even seen a yakuza film. "But I know the style."

The film distinguishes between the original reggae-loving skinhead gangs and the politically extreme groups that followed them â€” a â€œready-made army, easy preyâ€. The first-generation skinheads, Meadows says, were white and black kids who sought work in factories and shipyards and were united in a love of Jamaican music.

â€œThe message was not so much anti-immigrant as anti-Thatcher. It was incredibly arrogant, of course. We were basically saying, â€˜Maggie Thatcher, you run the country how you like, but weâ€™re going to run our town the way we likeâ€™. It wasnâ€™t true, but it felt true at the time.â€

The Best Of The Last

The end is near. In mere days Portlandia wraps up its final season, and oh what a season it’s been. Lucky for you, you can watch the entire season right now right here and on the IFC app, including this free episode courtesy of Subaru.

But now, let’s take a moment to look back at some of the new classics Fred and Carrie have so thoughtfully bestowed upon us. (We’ll be looking back through tear-blurred eyes, but you do you.)

Couples Dinner

It’s not that being single sucks, it’s that you suck if you’re single.

Cancel it!

A sketch for anyone who has cancelled more appointments than they’ve kept. Which is everyone.

Forgotten America

This one’s a “Serial” killer…everything both right and wrong about true crime podcasts.

Wedding Planners

The only bad wedding is a boring wedding.

Disaster Hut

It’s only the end of the world if your doomsday kit doesn’t include rosé.

Your Portlandia Personality Test

Carrie and Fred understand that although we have so much in common, we’re each so beautifully unique and different. To help us navigate those differences, Portlandia has found an easy and honest way to embrace our special selves in the form of a progressive new traffic system: a specific lane for every kind of driver. It’s all in honor of the show’s 8th and final season, and it’s all presented by Subaru.

Ready to find out who you really are? Match your personality to a lane and hop on the expressway to self-understanding.

Lane 10: Trucks Piled With Junk

Your junk is falling out of your trunk. Shake a tail light, people — this lane is for you.

Lane 33: Twins

You’re like a Gemini, but waaaay more pedestrian. Maybe you and a friend just wear the same outfits a lot. Who cares, it’s just twinning enough to make you feel special.

Lane 27: Broken Windows

Bad luck follows you around and everyone knows it. Your proverbial seat is always damp from proverbial rain. Is this the universe telling you to swallow your pride? Yes.

Lane 69: Filthy Cars

You’re all about convenience. Getting your car washed while you drive is a no-brainer.

Lane 43: Newly Divorced Singles

It’s been a while since you’ve driven alone, and you don’t know the rules of the road anymore. What’s too fast? What’s too slow? Are you sending the right signals? Don’t worry, the breakdown lane is nearby if you need it.

Still can’t find a lane to match your personality? Check out all the videos here. And see the final season of Portlandia this spring on IFC.

Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide

It’s the final countdown to Christmas and thanks to IFC’s movie marathon all Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, you can revel in classic ’80s films AND find inspiration for your last-minute gifts. Here are our recommendations, if you need a head start:

Musical Instrument

Great analog entertainment substitute when you refuse to give your kid the Nintendo Switch they’ve been drooling over.

Breakfast In Bed

Any significant other or child would appreciate these Uncle Buck-approved flapjacks. Just make sure you’re not stuck on clean up duty.

Cocktail Supplies

You’ll need them to get through the holidays.

Dance Lessons

So you can learn to shake-shake-shake (unless you know ghosts willing to lend a hand).

Comfy Clothes

With all the holiday meals, there may be some…embigenning.

Get even more great inspiration all Christmas Eve and Day on IFC, and remember…